Eight Years And A Day
by pilot-anubis
Summary: Goku and Pan have been living in hiding for eight years....But why?...GokuxChiChi, TrunksxPan......Pan is 22 in this fic....
1. Default Chapter

"Eight years and a day" by PilotAnubis  
  
Prologue:  
  
It's been a total of eight years since our trip into space, Grandpa!" Pan announced. Goku smiled at his 22 year old granddaughter. She looked just like ChiChi. He winced. Eight years. It wasn't too long after the discovery of Tuffle's control on Earth that Goku and Pan discovered that none of anyone they knew were themselves and never would be again. Tuffle made sure of that. And since Pan and Goku didn't have the heart to kill them, they lived in hiding as humans. They didn't use any of their saiyen powers for fear of being found.  
  
"Eight years, huh?" Pan nodded. Every year they celebrated being alive. It kept a brighter light in the scheme of their reality. They reminisced about the good memories they had and ate a cake as a treat for being able to survive another year. They listened to the stereo and music they ordered off the internet. Watched movies off the television. And this year was no different. They shared memories, tears, laughter. Goku and Pan were content with this life. But it got hard at times. Times where depression would sink in without warning. Anger was more common than the depression. They had to be strong for each other for every moment. And every year they celebrated being alive and sane. They had nothing else.  
  
Disclaimer: blah blah blah...I no own DBZ or any of its characters...READ REVIEW!!!!! 


	2. Capsule Corp

Capsule Corp...  
  
"When will we find them? They can't have vanished!" ChiChi wailed. During those eight years, Vegeta rebelled against the control over his mind and eventually kicked Bebi out of his body and Kibito Kai freed everyone from Bebi's control. Thus, in doing so, Vegeta killed Bebi. The Tuffle species were officially extinct. Now they only had one problem: finding Goku and Pan. At first they all thought the two were dead. But ChiChi refused to give up looking for them. It has been five years since they started searching and without success.  
  
"I'm going out." Trunks announced. Bulma nodded her acknowledgement and he walked out with a jacket slung over his shoulder. His best friend, Pan, was missing along with the praised hero, Goku. Where could they be, if not dead? He thought. Trunks sat on a bench in the city park, not even wondering how he got there. He always came here at night to meditate, hoping that somehow, he'd sense them. Even though, he'd meditate, he'd always remember when he first woke up.

Flashback

He felt paralyzed. He couldn't move and he kept wondering if Bebi would find him. Trunks started to panic, he sensed his father coming towards him. When Vegeta came into view, Trunks' eyes widened in fear. Vegeta's large fist came down and knocked him out. When he woke up again, he was in a hospital room and he still couldn't feel anything. Then a doctor came, introduced himself and explained what was wrong with Trunks.  
  
"The paralysis is only temporary, you should be on your feet again in a few days or so." The doctor told him.

End Flashback

After Trunks had healed, he went through psychological therapy. They all did to find peace with themselves after this whole ordeal. When they found out that Goku and Pan had disappeared, Pan's parents were inconsolable. ChiChi understood and helped them to cope a little. Eventually, they all found ways to make time go faster and increase productivity to make things progress again. ChiChi kept herself busy by cooking and cleaning. Bulma took care of economic activity. Vegeta just trained, as usual. Trunks and Goten took up construction work. And Bra brought back entertainment centers such as, the mall and movie theaters. Everything seemed to go back to normal for the rest of the world.  
  
Tears came to Trunks' eyes. Then he felt a faint rise in someone's power level. Then he felt another one. He got so excited that he just took off into the air to find out who it belonged to.

Note: The reason why i didn't elaborate on Trunks' POV was because it would be excessive compared to the rest of the chapters.


	3. Survival

Survival  
  
Goku and Pan had made it a rule never to venture outside their isolated home, even if they kept their power levels down. But Goku would go hunting every weekend and they did keep a garden in a small clearing in that part of the forest. And yet they didn't know that the Tuffle planet was gone and that things had returned to normal. Goku never paid attention to the power levels of his sons, Trunks or Vegeta.  
But this year, Goku and Pan made an exception. They went outside their little house and trained. For a good few hours they forgot about everything. And it felt glorious. But, this didn't last. Goku sensed a power level heading their way. He panicked and rushed Pan into the house to hide. When they heard the knock on the door, they feared they'd soon be dead.  
The door opened and there stood Trunks. Pan could see him from where she was hiding. Watching him carefully, she noticed that he seemed different from the last time she saw him.  
  
"Pan? Goku? Are you here?" Trunks called out. He didn't want to have imagined those power levels. He couldn't fail now.  
  
"Who are you?" a female voice said.  
  
"I'm Trunks Briefs. I'm looking for Son Pan and Son Goku." He replied.  
  
"I didn't ask you anything else!" the voice snapped. Trunks winced. Then he saw a beautiful, dark haired woman step into the light of the room. He searched her aura and found traces of Gohan. It had to be her.  
  
"Pan?" his voice broke. The lump in his throat was too big to get around. The woman looked scared, real scared. "It's really me, Pan. The Trunks you knew before Bebi happened. Vegeta found a way to get rid of Bebi and the Tuffle planet. We've all been looking for you two for years! I"- he was cut off by the attack from behind. Goku was here, too. He felt his chest tighten. But it wasn't because Goku attacked him.  
  
"Why should we believe you? As far as we know you could be tricking us." Goku said, flatly.  
  
"Look at the sky. The Tuffle planet isn't there anymore. Just our moon." Trunks croaked. While they went outside, Trunks sat on the floor and contemplated his situation. He shouldn't have expected them to believe him so soon. Believing that he was still evil gave him the assumption that they lived in fear all these years of being found. The tears returned and he didn't fight them. He heard their footsteps come back into the house.  
  
"The planet was in the Earth's orbit, it could be on the other side of Earth. Do you have any other proof?" Goku asked calmly. Trunks dug into his pocket and took out a capsule. It opened to reveal a video tape. Of everyone at one of Bulma's New Year's Eve parties. The date was shown to be four years after Bebi was destroyed. Everyone seemed normal and well. Champagne galore and many resolutions were made that they'd find Pan and Goku before the next year.  
  
When the tape ended, Trunks merely capsuled it and put it back in his pocket. Pan wiped the tears from her eyes. "Grandpa?" she said. Goku looked at her. "Yes, Pan?" he responded. "We should go see them..." she suggested.  
  
Trunks blocked out the conversation. It would be rather unfair of him, as well as the rest of the gang, to expect anything more than estrangement. Even innocent minded Goku was cynical. Gone was the optimism he once had for everyone, whether they be evil or good. Then Trunks thought about what the reunion would be like. He couldn't imagine laughter or smiles.  
  
"What do you guys think would be best for you?" trunks asked grimly. They looked surprised he had asked. Goku spoke first.  
  
"I suppose a short visit wouldn't hurt. You guys could come visit us sometimes." Pan looked shocked that Goku didn't want to see his wife or sons. Trunks looked furious.  
  
"Goku, you need to reunite yourself with your family. They suffered the most when they recovered and found out you were gone. Despite the eight- year estrangement, I think you should put your family first. Not just Pan. But ChiChi, Gohan and Goten. They need you right now. And I'll be damned if I let another day go by where ChiChi cries herself to sleep at night!" Trunks raged. He knew it was rude and unreasonable, but he no longer cared. ChiChi tried to look strong and capable but he knew she was crumbling inside. All the saiyans could hear her cry at night.  
  
Gou looked shocked but resigned.  
  
"I think we should go to them and be a family again." Pan said.  
  
"I agree. It's up to you, Goku. I'm willing to give you a day to come to Capsule Corp. I'm leaving now to tell everyone at home that you're alive. If you don't come after 24 hours, we'll come here. We all miss you and are scared to death that we may never have a future with you two. We've lived with the guilt and you have lived with the fear. We all deserve to be together so that we can live in happiness. We'll be waiting for your arrival. Goodnight." Trunks told them, flatly. He turned to walk out.  
  
"Trunks, wait!" Pan exclaimed. Trunks halted. "Yes?" he replied. "I'm coming with you. We have a lot of catching up to do!" she said, excitement in her voice. Trunks gave a small smile and walked out with Pan close behind. Goku watched as they took off into the air. 


	4. Why

Why

Fact of the matter was, Goku was terrified of facing Chichi and the boys. What if nothing had changed and Chichi would give him the cold shoulder and ignore him like she did when she was possessed? What if Gohan was mad at him and Goten hated him? Goku couldn't bear to face all that. They'll probably hate him for not arriving with Pan and Trunks. For hesitating. For changing into someone completely opposite of the man they knew before. But Goku had a fair reason for that. He needed to protect Pan from them when they were possessed. She wasn't as strong as the rest of them were. She wouldn't have been able to hold her own against them even if she trained non-stop for years. He had to hide them in isolation so that his granddaughter would live. He could have fought them off easily but then Pan would be determined to follow him and help out, thus probably getting killed. He couldn't have risked it, even though his every living cell longed for it. After Goku went through all this in his head, he came to a decision. He would go to explain why he hid. Why he quelled his urges to fight. If he knew Chichi, she would be spitting mad that he finally changed his ways now instead of when she needed him to. And hurt that he would do the nearly impossible for their granddaughter instead of her, his wife. But he could deal with her being mad and he would manage to find a way to sooth her hurt. In the end, she would be proud of him. With that in mind, Goku searched for Chichi's aura and when he found it, he instant-transmitted to her side.

Pan was nervous. Trunks was still devastatingly handsome as he was when she was fourteen. But they had been best friends then.  
"So how does it feel to be four years away from forty?" Pan teased. Trunks winced at the reminder of his age.  
"Frightening. Mom's freaked that I'll never marry or give her grandchildren. I don't know why she should worry about grandchildren when Bra and Goten are about to get hitched soon. How does it feel to be twenty- two?" Trunks answered. Pan smiled.  
"Wonderful. I'm a woman now. And I can drink sake to my heart's content. But I have low tolerance so I don't drink." She said with a bit of a frown at the last bit. Trunks laughed. Then she laughed, too. And they both thought it was good to hear each other laugh again. Pan wasn't so nervous anymore.

Chichi nearly had a heart attack. She was washing dishes when she felt another presence in the room. When she turned to see who it was, she was struck dumb by the vision of her husband right by her side. And he was all grown up into the version of himself when he was in his twenties. He looked so handsome and built. But there was no smile or anger in his expression. Just seriousness and anguish. He looked surprised by her appearance. She was well into her late forties now, with gray strands of hair showing up and a couple wrinkles fanned out from the corners of her eyes.  
"Is that really you, Goku?" she gasped. He nodded, a tear rolled down his cheek. Chichi threw her arms around his neck and felt his arms around her waist. She cried silently for awhile but stopped when he lifted her head and touched her face.  
"You look beautiful, Chichi. And don't start into the fact that you're almost fifty. You'll always be beautiful to me. I've missed you so much, Chichi!" he exclaimed. Chichi was struck dumb again. He then surprised them both by kissing her fervently on the lips. Chichi immediately responded to his kiss and leaned into him. She was all too disappointed when he lifted his head and told they had to talk.  
"But first, we need to leave a note so no one freaks out when they can't find you anywhere." Goku said. Chichi quickly went in search of paper and a pen.  
"Where are we going?" she asked as she wrote the note. He didn't say anything, just took hold of her waist when she signed her name and instant- transmitted them to the house he and Pan shared for the past eight years.

Soooo? What do you think? Reviews, please!!!!!


End file.
